Surly Dad Thread

[Al_4_ISU 12,482]

39 minutes ago, Jkwellborn said:

My kids didn’t sleep worth a damn. Neither of them. Fuck all y’all that are getting any sleep. Lol

AI, you gonna throw her out and let her get cold, so you can bring her in and warm her up to sleep? That an IA thing?

I've never heard of that.  I plant to bundle her up and go sledding should we get the requisite amount of snow.  Didn't know about it being a sleep tactic.

[Celery Man 20,996]

As is standard, the nords take it to the most metal extreme

still common

[Al_4_ISU 12,482]

40 minutes ago, Jkwellborn said:

My kids didn’t sleep worth a damn. Neither of them. Fuck all y’all that are getting any sleep. Lol

AI, you gonna throw her out and let her get cold, so you can bring her in and warm her up to sleep? That an IA thing?

My wife and I figure that having a kid who sleeps well is finally getting a little good karma after spending 6 years fighting infertility which included 6 IVF attempts and cycles for my wife (which included countless hormone injections, wild swings in weight and mood), having to have Mayo Clinic tell us she can't have kids and they really don't why, lighting hundreds of thousands of dollars on fire in the process, trying to start finding a surrogate and egg donor in the middle of COVID, getting lined up with a surrogate only for her doctor to pull the plug on it halfway through her injection before finally finding the person who ended up giving birth to our daughter.

I would have been just fine having a kid that slept like shit if all I had to do was dump some loads in the old lady on the right day.

[Celery Man 20,996]

What do the five fingers say to the magnatiles?

Spoiler

 

[Armybrat 40,888]

[tbone_ 14,150]

Of course

[YGIFS 19,452]

I’ll wait for somebody else to point out the irony of impotent fathers 

[Celery Man 20,996]

Is it actually bulletproof? Would be handy during a mass shooting.

[Armybrat 40,888]

51 minutes ago, Celery Man said:

Is it actually bulletproof? Would be handy during a mass shooting.

Dunno, but was wondering if their diapers were camo.

[Goofyboy 3,294]

After years of getting our asses kicked, we finally had a winning soccer season. My boy learned a new position and did really well at it. Super proud of him and his teammates.

[hookem2010 2,625]

18-month sleep regression + molars coming in + beginning daycare viral cocktail is really taking its toll right now.

[YGIFS 19,452]

On 11/15/2023 at 8:08 PM, Armybrat said:

Dunno, but was wondering if their diapers were camo.

My oldest’s feces for the first year or so, were a curious swirl of earth tones.  So this hits close to home.  Not quite digital print, colon don’t work like that.  But close.  
 

She’s having a rough time around all the in laws this week.  Doesn’t help they like to stay cooped up with all 12 of us inside doing nothing but eating and screens.  But in the end, I accept responsibility.  I’m up early to pray and meditate on it and show her some fun shit here on Fort Worth besides this kitchen.  She and her sister are so awesome in so many ways.  
 

wishing all you dads putting in the work the happiest of Thanksgivings.  What the fuck else is it all for anyway?  

[Al_4_ISU 12,482]

18-month sleep regression + molars coming in + beginning daycare viral cocktail is really taking its toll right now.

First daycare virus came early last week and absolutely put my dick in the dirt.

[hookem2010 2,625]

Our guy made it through a week before getting hand, foot and mouth. 2 weeks and multiple pedi visits later, we ended up in the ER, where his respiratory panel also showed RSV, adenovirus and rhinovirus, in addition to an ear infection. 

We made it nearly two and a half weeks through daycare before the current bug, which seems tame by comparison. Just a fever and waking up in the middle of the night to vomit up all the snot draining down his throat. But he at least isn't a zombie or crying uncontrollably.

[hookemATL 11,848]

Something ran through our entire household the last 2 weeks. Eye infections, ear infections, cough, runny nose, and I had what I think was some type of three day flu lite that fucked me up good. Finally to the other side of it just in time for the holiday, thank fuck. 
 

kids are just really cute disease bags. 

[hookem2010 2,625]

I like thinking you've managed to avoid catching whatever the little one gets, only to have some combination of constant exposure and sleep deprivation finally catch up to you a week later and put you on your ass.

[HornOnTheBayou 8,945]

My fifth-grader:

"I need a new computer for Christmas."
"What's wrong with your school one?"
"They block most of the internet on it!"
"They block the non-educational stuff. You just want a new screen to play games on."
"No, they block educational stuff too. I had to do a report on beavers and I tried to google a picture. Almost all of them were blocked!"
Me (doing everything in my power not to bust out laughing): Well, I'm not sure why the school would block pictures of beavers on the internet.

[hookemATL 11,848]

Took my 8yo to the game last night and she was in heaven. What a great game to attend, despite it being one of the longest games I’ve ever been to. 
 

she was starting to yawn at end of 3q and I asked her if she wanted to leave and she starkly told me “No!  We stay for eyes of Texas dad!”

 

me:

[52-80 19,238]

iPad for a kid... yay or nay?  at what age?

watching cocomelon on a spare phone is a crutch for ours.  sometimes he'll hold it too close to his eyes, or demand that we prop it up for him, etc.  thinking a small/mini ipad in a childproof case with a stand is a better replacement.

[52-80 19,238]

On 11/6/2023 at 3:49 PM, Celery Man said:

As is standard, the nords take it to the most metal extreme

 

this is how the Night King built his army

[CleverNickname 1,321]

33 minutes ago, 52-80 said:

iPad for a kid... yay or nay?  at what age?

watching cocomelon on a spare phone is a crutch for ours.  sometimes he'll hold it too close to his eyes, or demand that we prop it up for him, etc.  thinking a small/mini ipad in a childproof case with a stand is a better replacement.

Amazon Fire in kid proof case. About 90% as good for 25% the price. 

[Celery Man 20,996]

I hate the stupid little amazon fire tablet so much, it is such a piece of garbage. But ymmv I guess. Probably if I took the time to learn the OS it would be better,  but I hate that thing

We’re not the best about never letting the kid veg out with coco melon or Elsa or whatever, but it’s not typically with an iPad. However, I have an older iPad that I turned into a kid iPad for long drives and plane rides and it is good. There are some letter tracing games she likes (abc something, it’s one of the “what games for toddlers” google results) and yeah whatever shows or movies she likes. But it’s not around all the time. Honestly we thought about pulling it out more after our last drive when we saw how engaged she was with drawing letters.

 

new game at the park is going to kill me

 

[Post Oak 20,260]

1 hour ago, 52-80 said:

iPad for a kid... yay or nay?  at what age?

watching cocomelon on a spare phone is a crutch for ours.  sometimes he'll hold it too close to his eyes, or demand that we prop it up for him, etc.  thinking a small/mini ipad in a childproof case with a stand is a better replacement.

Our kids have hand me down iPads.  They've had them since they were 7.  We struggle with finding a balance between what they can and can't use them for. 

In hindsight, I wish we would've waited longer to give them to them but they are able to get online anytime they want and talk to their cousins and don't have to use my phone.

[Snake Diggity 4,627]

14 hours ago, 52-80 said:

iPad for a kid... yay or nay?  at what age?

watching cocomelon on a spare phone is a crutch for ours.  sometimes he'll hold it too close to his eyes, or demand that we prop it up for him, etc.  thinking a small/mini ipad in a childproof case with a stand is a better replacement.

See below

14 hours ago, CleverNickname said:

Amazon Fire in kid proof case. About 90% as good for 25% the price. 

Yep.

 

Fire tablets are not nearly as addictive as iPads because the OS is not nearly as user friendly.  My kids get bored with their tablets, but they scratch the itch of killing boredom with kids educational games and videos.  We ban YouTube altogether and they only get YouTube kids when we’re eating at a restaurant (and they’re done with their dinner).  I have never even figured out the Fire OS and when my kids ask for help with it I tell them to figure it out themselves or do something else.  The fact that they cost 1/4 as much as iPads is just gravy.

I am tentatively planning to get an iPad for my kids when they turn 10 but that is the earliest.  I would prefer to wait until middle school or to never get them one at all.  It would not surprise me if we looked back on the screen time and social media epidemics and saw the consequences were worse than if we’d let our kids smoke cigarettes at that age.

Edited November 28, 2023 by Snake Diggity

[High Plains Drifter 11,050]

On 8/15/2023 at 8:48 AM, BabaYaga said:

To add some perspective - that's a TON of boys these days.  A friend had his son at Top Golf and a girl walked up started a conversation with him, gave him her number....and he never called her.  Dad was laughing, "he wouldn't even know what to say to a girl"

What's the old saying about necessity.  

 

 

smdh. Youth, wasted on the young.

 

[52-80 19,238]

5 hours ago, Snake Diggity said:

Fire tablets are not nearly as addictive as iPads because the OS is not nearly as user friendly.

i lolled at this sentence (had the first Fire tablet a decade ago) but you guys do make a good point.  kiddo so far ONLY needs netflix and nothing else.

[SydneyCarton 48,156]

We got our kid a tablet when he was...4 and a half or so. He'd already tried to grab our phones, and we loaded it up only with netflix, disneyplus, and PBS kids. YouTube is completely banned, and everything else is his own account and he has to ask us when he wants to watch a new show. He's about to turn 6, and we're getting him an nintendo switch, which should be a real kick in the pants for us, but whatever. Kid loves video games. We do limit it during the week after school to just Educational stuff. On the weekends he can play video games on it.

[Da Fino 2,783]

12 hours ago, Snake Diggity said:

See below

Yep.

 

Fire tablets are not nearly as addictive as iPads because the OS is not nearly as user friendly.  My kids get bored with their tablets, but they scratch the itch of killing boredom with kids educational games and videos.  We ban YouTube altogether and they only get YouTube kids when we’re eating at a restaurant (and they’re done with their dinner).  I have never even figured out the Fire OS and when my kids ask for help with it I tell them to figure it out themselves or do something else.  The fact that they cost 1/4 as much as iPads is just gravy.

I am tentatively planning to get an iPad for my kids when they turn 10 but that is the earliest.  I would prefer to wait until middle school or to never get them one at all.  It would not surprise me if we looked back on the screen time and social media epidemics and saw the consequences were worse than if we’d let our kids smoke cigarettes at that age.

We got an ipad prior for a long flight around 4yo. Used it about a week later for a 4-5 hour car ride. One of us let the kid use it too often after that and it was a real bitch getting that hook out of her. Wish we had never bought it. I've got some nephews that are handed those things at every meal. The dinners are more relaxing for us when they have them, but those little dudes are different after getting that fix. 

[hookemATL 11,848]

We shoved a mini iPad up the birth canal so the fetus didn’t bored.
 

but Don’t worry, we restricted content to the discography of prog rock legends Yes and reruns of Charles in Charge. 

Edited November 28, 2023 by hookemATL
Drunk and tired

[next2naus 439]

get a cheap or refurb iPad, ours are 6 and they started watching on them on their own at 5 and had had some limit access before that. its largely Streaming Services (Netflix,  YT kids, Paramount, Amz, Disney+) followed by JrChef, Kidtopia, some Slime app, and TMNT apps.

 

[texas08 1,599]

iPad minis with YouTube kids (where you control the videos that are allowed, essentially you build a playlist), and also a password. Netflix with parental control and password protected. So if they click on the app, they need a password after 1 minute to grant them more time.

Drawing apps, and other learning apps are cool, and I have those w no password. Delete all and every native app that can be delete. Put all native apps that can’t be deleted in a folder.

I also find that YouTube premium is a must with kids, that way they don’t click on stupid ads or random ads showing up (even if kid related, fuck ads). Even YouTube kids throws ads if I remember correctly.

[Celery Man 20,996]

Do we have an actual gay dad on here or am I the gayest one? Just finished this hat, had to stretch the shit out of it while blocking because I knit too tightly and didn’t to a swatch, oh well. Making a matching one in newborn size for #2 in a few weeks.

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, Celery Man said:

Do we have an actual gay dad on here or am I the gayest one? 

Love the cap and the TLC that goes into something like that. Very cool.

All that being said, i had to read this line multiple times before it made sense.

[Celery Man 20,996]

I paused to decide if it was homophobic or not but I don’t think it is.

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4,977]

Lol, right now I'm sewing up a cap out of wool broadcloth using proper nineteenth century materials to make something that might be reasonably historically accurate, but I'm kind of making up the pattern as I go and not following any known nineteenth century patterns. But it will keep my head warm while I'm hunting with my muzzleloaders like my ancestors did 200 years ago. So maybe I'll give you a run for your money.

[NoName 16,394]

14 hours ago, Celery Man said:

Do we have an actual gay dad on here or am I the gayest one? Just finished this hat, had to stretch the shit out of it while blocking because I knit too tightly and didn’t to a swatch, oh well. Making a matching one in newborn size for #2 in a few weeks.

reaching out to ask about the play yard/wooden wall behind - you like it? any thoughts or is it just one from amazon?

[Celery Man 20,996]

14 minutes ago, NoName said:

reaching out to ask about the play yard/wooden wall behind - you like it? any thoughts or is it just one from amazon?

 

https://www.amazon.com/playpen-Activity-Playard-Locking-Natural/dp/B08G89F8ZM?th=1

I think my wife must have bought it because I don't see it in my history. However, this appears to be the same one - ours doesn't have that "Bonrcea" branding I don't think but it is the same construction, same "hardware"/joints/latches/etc. Overall, I'd say I'm fairly happy with it - I was skeptical that it would last but we've had it up in a few different forms for 2 years and there's nothing broken about it. The gate part lifts to open/close and also comes with a plastic latch thing that you have to pull back to open. So, the normal "open the gate" thing is to pull this plastic part back and then to lift the door and open it.  I removed the plastic part to make it such that I just lift it to open and close, which was easy to do. I did that because the plastic part was a bit of a PITA one handed, especially if you have it configured like we do where it's not actually connected (it is in a U shape and kinda sandwiched into place).

 

At any rate, it's been fine to good. Fairly easy to remove sections and reconfigure. There are long brass screws holding in one side of each connector that i've occasionally had to go around tightening back up with a hex, have found them on the floor a few times. Probably there's some.... loctite or some such thing I could do to keep those in place because I suppose screws coming out and then being around in the play area represents a risk.

[NoName 16,394]

<2 year old just popped positive for RSV and a pretty serious ear infection. fingers crossed she's over the worst of it and doesn't have to do breathing treatments like last year...

if the <2 month old gets RSV, we have to drive to metro area for Children's hospital...so wish me luck

 

[Guest]

We had an old Samsung tablet that we used only on long car rides/plane rides. I guess that started around 4-5? The tablet absolutely sucked, had poor battery life, would crash, etc. There's never been a desire for tablet outside of that setting. Never did it at restaurants or other places.

Now at 7, the Switch has taken over. Dude is obsessed with Zelda and even beat BOTW, which actually impressed me. We do a good job of limiting the time on there. He knows if we tell him a time to cut it off and he ignores it that he's not going to like the consequences. Again, it's not something we take in public or play at other people's houses (like visiting grandparents, for example).

But "Can I play Switch?" is something we constantly have to answer. If we didn't set limits, he would play from morning until bedtime. I don't think I've ever seen him put it down voluntarily. It's kind of funny to watch him turn it off, and then spend the next few minutes walking around on the couch not saying anything. You can see his mind is just digesting what he just played. Once he digests it, then he wants to talk about it for the next hour.

[Al_4_ISU 12,482]

1 hour ago, NoName said:

<2 year old just popped positive for RSV and a pretty serious ear infection. fingers crossed she's over the worst of it and doesn't have to do breathing treatments like last year...

if the <2 month old gets RSV, we have to drive to metro area for Children's hospital...so wish me luck

 

I'm not looking to start a debate on the topic, but I'm just curious if you guys did the RSV vax for your kids or not?  We did, and there were a few cases at her daycare (including one in the baby room) but she didn't get it.

[NoName 16,394]

8 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

I'm not looking to start a debate on the topic, but I'm just curious if you guys did the RSV vax for your kids or not?  We did, and there were a few cases at her daycare (including one in the baby room) but she didn't get it.

we did not, but we 100% would have if we could have gotten the shot locally. we likely will be in the future.

[Al_4_ISU 12,482]

24 minutes ago, NoName said:

we did not, but we 100% would have if we could have gotten the shot locally. we likely will be in the future.

10-4.  I'm just trying to gather data to determine our likelihood of it coming through.  My early thoughts are that it worked for my daughter and we'll keep doing it in the future.

She sure hates getting shots though.  Got the 4 month shots last night and she was passed out by 7PM.

[BigDHornfan 6,549]

Boy is 11 and I walked in on him in the bathroom and he was beating it like it owed him fucking money.
11.     Fuck.

[NoName 16,394]

10 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

10-4.  I'm just trying to gather data to determine our likelihood of it coming through.  My early thoughts are that it worked for my daughter and we'll keep doing it in the future.

She sure hates getting shots though.  Got the 4 month shots last night and she was passed out by 7PM.

the shots when they are young suuuuuuuuuuck. but now that she's over 1 they have gone much easier for things like flu vax

[Celery Man 20,996]

So last night, sitting on the couch, 2.5 year old says “I hurt my stomach” and then vomits soy milk and apples all over me. Pretty sure it was from some cookie decorating that went sideways and she just ate way too much buttercream. Anyways, yucky - strip clothes, start laundry, clean couch, scoop vomit off the floor, hit the floor with the steam mop, notice some piles of dust on the floor that indicate the Roborock is somehow jammed and file that away for later because it is bathtime.

execute bathtime, get kiddo clean and ready for bed, put her down, go downstairs to remove all the hair and Christmas ornament hooks from the robot vacuum, clean up the downstairs, empty the dishwasher, knock the next thing off of my “before the baby” list which is to assemble the bike that the toddler is getting for Christmas. Check the kid on the monitor and she has definitely thrown up. Strip the sheets strip the toddler start the laundry get the bath running clean the toddler again, remake the bed get the toddler down again, think about how I still could watch an episode of the office or something before I really need to pass out and then wife says her water broke

Spoiler

I am so tired right now

Edited December 11, 2023 by Celery Man

[Jerry Callo 8,722]

Congratulations @Celery Man

[MNLonghornFUKM 8,817]

Boy is 11 and I walked in on him in the bathroom and he was beating it like it owed him fucking money.
11.     Fuck.

You’ll be a grandpa before he finishes high school!

[BigDHornfan 6,549]

6 hours ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:

You’ll be a grandpa before he finishes high school!

[NoName 16,394]

14 hours ago, Celery Man said:

So last night, sitting on the couch, 2.5 year old says “I hurt my stomach” and then vomits soy milk and apples all over me. Pretty sure it was from some cookie decorating that went sideways and she just ate way too much buttercream. Anyways, yucky - strip clothes, start laundry, clean couch, scoop vomit off the floor, hit the floor with the steam mop, notice some piles of dust on the floor that indicate the Roborock is somehow jammed and file that away for later because it is bathtime.

execute bathtime, get kiddo clean and ready for bed, put her down, go downstairs to remove all the hair and Christmas ornament hooks from the robot vacuum, clean up the downstairs, empty the dishwasher, knock the next thing off of my “before the baby” list which is to assemble the bike that the toddler is getting for Christmas. Check the kid on the monitor and she has definitely thrown up. Strip the sheets strip the toddler start the laundry get the bath running clean the toddler again, remake the bed get the toddler down again, think about how I still could watch an episode of the office or something before I really need to pass out and then wife says her water broke

  Hide contents

I am so tired right now

dude congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SurlyGator 873]

Congrats CM.  This level of tired you speak of is the new normal for a while.  Pack a lunch!